1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of construction equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for providing added operator-control during demolition and crushing procedures in a construction setting. More particular yet, the present invention involves an improved attachment for construction equipment (e.g., excavators and the like) for enhanced manipulation and crushing of concrete pavement slabs and other similar construction site debris.
2. Description of Prior-art
While the general field of demolition involves problems associated with the destruction and removal of many different types of materials, the more specific field of demolition of concrete-based structures (e.g., sidewalks, road surfaces, bridge decking and abutments, . . . etc.) will be discussed herein. It should be noted that this discussion is limited to the specific field of demolition of concretebased structures for the sole purpose of illustrative clarity and is not meant to limit the intended scope of the invention.
By way of example, highway reconstruction and demolition of structures including reinforced concrete presents a significant problem in the disposal of large pieces of concrete paving or reinforced concrete. Many governmental regulations and practical considerations relating to the operation of landfills prohibit the disposal of concrete slabs and large reinforced concrete structures by burial in landfills. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to dispose of such concrete material in other ways. Crushing of the concrete is one alternative so that the concrete slabs and structures may be reduced to smaller particle sizes. This allows for the reuse of such concrete as fill or as an aggregate base for roadways and other construction sites. To date, there have been several prior-art attempts at reducing concrete structures and slabs into particulate so as to facilitate transport and reuse of such particulate. However, such prior-art attempts have not known adequate devices as described hereinbelow.
In the field of demolition of concrete-based structures such as concrete highway surfaces, the general operation for destruction and removal of such a surface structure typically involves two basic steps. These steps commonly involve first using a backhoe or bulldozer to rip apart the surface layer(s) and then using a crusher-attachment directly coupled to the end of an arm of an excavator or similar construction machine to crush pieces of the torn-up surface layer(s). Such a crusher-attachment is coupled by way of a hinge pin, which is usually pivotally coupled with an excavator bucket or the like. Commonly, a setting cylinder used for pivoting the excavator bucket, which is coupled to the excavator arm at one end, is coupled to one of two jaws of the crusher-attachment, while the other jaw is secured against pivoting about the hinge pin by way of a strut. An example of such a prior-art crusher-attachment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,493 issued to LaBounty.
The device of LaBounty is an attachment for the boom structure and hydraulic system of a hydraulic excavator and includes a pair of jaws for crushing concrete slabs. Each jaw has a grid-like jaw structure with multiple teeth and at least one of the jaws is connected to the excavator's hydraulic system. This allows the jaws to apply pressure and fracture concrete structures being gripped and crushed. However, the device of LaBounty and similar devices are limited in their range of manipulation. That is to say, an excavator operator using the device of LaBounty and similar devices is often presented with a pile of debris that is not arranged optimally for the prior-art jaws to easily grasp and crush large chucks of such debris into smaller manageable piles construction debris. This requires repeated attempts by the excavator operator to grasp at the large chunks.
In addition to the time-consuming process mentioned above, the use of a second machine is required to initially tear up the concrete (or asphalt, . . . etc.) structure in order to form the debris pile. More specifically, roadways and sidewalks present a large concrete surface embedded in the earth. Often, such surfaces are reinforced with steel bars known as "re-bar" that present added difficulty in moving and crushing the debris. Still further, such surfaces form large slabs set atop or adjacent one another with an expansion joint of felt or rubber placed between the slabs. Ripping apart the layers with a backhoe or bulldozer is therefore a necessary prerequisite to using crushing devices of the prior-art. With respect to safety and efficiency, the device of LaBounty and similar devices fail to present a viable solution.
Among the prior-art references, several more devices are known and typify the aforementioned problematic excavator attachments. However, none of these below patents touch the disclosure of this invention as described herein.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,227 issued to De Gier et al. is an attachment for a hydraulic excavator that includes two opposing jaws. The jaws are movable about a single pivot point. However, this device fails to resolve the issue of manipulating construction debris that is not properly oriented for grasping.
The devices of U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,946 issued to Labounty and U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,187 issued to Pardoe are attachments for a hydraulic excavators that each include two opposing jaws. One jaw includes a blade movable about a pivot point so as to oppose the other stationary jaw. These devices are drawn to cutting or shearing items such as tree stumps and fail to suggest any improvement that would resolve the issue of manipulating any item that is not properly oriented for grasping.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,114 issued to LaBounty is an attachment for a hydraulic excavator that includes two opposing grappling-jaws. The grappling-jaws are movable about a single pivot point so as to oppose one another. As well, the grappling-jaws together are rotatable so as to grasp items vertically oriented, horizontally oriented, or oriented somewhere between a vertical and horizontal angle. Although this represents an improvement on the above-mentioned prior-art, such an improvement continues to fail to resolve the problem presented by a large pile of construction debris. This prior-art does not show or suggest any feature that would adequately pick out a single large slab from a mass of construction debris, properly orient such a large slab for grasping, grasp the slab within its jaws, and crush the slab down to a preferred size.
Indeed, none of the prior-art references discussed above adequately provide for the finesse necessary to pick through a pile of construction debris (i.e., concrete slabs/chucks with or without reinforcement bars), extricate a large slab, and pulverize the slab. Contemporary improvements in these prior-art devices have been limited to a cumbersome design that fails provide the excavator operator with any additional ability to pick through and manipulate a pile of construction debris. The prior-art devices do not provide any feature independent of the jaws that would allow the excavator operator to freely move large construction debris pieces so as to re-orient such pieces for better grasping with the jaws. Such ineffective manipulation using the prior-art jaws alone lacks finesse and results in unwanted wear and tear of the jaws. Further, catastrophic misalignment of the jaws, teeth, or shearing blades involved is possible if an operator were to attempt ripping apart a structure with the prior-art crushing device alone. The resulting untimely failure of the given attachment will then require costly and time-consuming repair or replacement.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide for a new and improved, effective attachment for enhancing demolition for such purposes as, but not limited to, highway reconstruction, bridge repair, or building demolition. What is needed is such an attachment that is easily operated. What is also needed is such an attachment that can be utilized in hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, or mechanical arrangements and combinations. What is further needed is such an attachment that does not require specialized actuation means, but instead can be used in any construction vehicle (e.g., excavators, backhoes, and the like). Still, what is needed is such an attachment that is able to both tear apart a large earth-bound slab or concrete (or the like) into large chucks as well as pulverize such large chunks into manageable pulverized construction debris. Such an attachment should operate in harmony with its crushing features such that enhanced tearing or ripping of earth-bound slabs does not interfere or jeopardize the crushing features. What is also needed is such an attachment that includes a ripper-shank with a ripper-tooth that efficiently operates to allow sorting and indexing of large pieces for trouble-free use of pulverizing jaws. Still further, what is needed is such an attachment that includes a ripper-shank that can be locked in any one of multiple positions and which requires few mechanical parts. Yet still further, what is needed is such an attachment which overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of the prior-art while providing new and useful sorting, indexing, probing, manipulating, prying, and ripping features.